Tag: alpha

The corporate workplace can be a competitive dog-eat-dog business, and in this aggressive environment, if the culture is not progressive, will still be following an archaic business model which is more akin to the animal kingdom’s struggle for survival.

In these instances, the individuals who are most successful, quickly rise up the corporate ladder, and appear to live the best lives, are those who dominate and lay to waste the competition. We refer to them (and they refer to themselves) as alpha males.

If you’re stuck in this type of corporate culture, it can leave you wondering,

How to be an alpha male

The alpha male is the man in the business environment who exudes self-confidence, wielding personal power like a sword of righteousness, commands the attention and respect of others in the organization. He is a man’s man, so to speak, people admire his ruthless ability to make decisions, take action, puts forth (and almost excessive) effort and expects the support of the rest of the team; and he usually gets it, out of respect for his relentless ambition and enthusiasm.

Alpha males didn’t just appear in the workplace, their characteristics can be traced back to early man, when it was us against the elements, and the animal kingdom, in the struggle for survival. The alpha males were the individuals who fought their way to the top of the food chain and the social ladder of the group by taking charge, and exerting domination over the group.

In some ways our current stage of evolution still harkens back to these alpha male archetypes. Through the process of natural selection, men bubble to the top that possess the traits of the alpha male. In the same way that our ancestors depended on these traits for survival, the corporate world is attracted to these A-type personalities for the benefits enjoyed by their shareholders.

The success of the alpha male is not simply restricted to the business environment, as socially, in many ways, we haven’t evolved very far and this is never more apparent than in our courting rituals. Even in this modern day and age, women are still attracted to the type of man who will protect her and provide an excellent source of genetic material on which to base her future generations.

Back in the day, wherever the alpha male was, you would find the best shelter, food and women, so the other men would want to befriend them and support them in order to enjoy the leftovers, and you can still see the remnants of this in our society today.

Taking on the appearance of the alpha male or emulating their attributes can be an effective way to gain ground in both corporate and social arenas, and you might be surprised to find that the best way to appear to be alpha is to

Care less about what others think about you

If you’re not an alpha male, you’re constantly vying for attention, and trying to impress others in an attempt to prove your worthiness of garnering attention or approval of others. Instead of accomplishing your hopes of gaining admiration, what you actually end up with is others thinking you are deprived, lack confidence and competence, are needy and clingy; not exactly what you had hoped for.

If your are having to constantly explain to others, or tell your own stories in an effort to show examples of your worthiness or greatness, your words are often in vain because people are not going to fall for your self-promoting tale-telling. They’re more likely to look at this as a desperate ploy to get people to like you, in an ill-fated attempt to present yourself as more appealing.

Complimenting people, especially flattery in an attempt to flirt or attract a potential mate, also not only makes you look desperate, but it clearly communicates to the object of your attention that you see them as more valuable than yourself (which doesn’t make you look any more attractive to them).

So, stop the ploys to gain the approval of others. Instead try to find ways to think of yourself more like an alpha. An alpha male could care less what anyone thinks of him, he finds his own worthiness within himself. His self confidence is high enough; he doesn’t need the approval of anyone else to make him feel any better.

When you are able to find your sense of worth from within, accepting yourself for all that you are, empowering and engaging all your special gifts and abilities without a thought of what others think, now you are becoming the powerful leader forging on with a sense of meaning and purpose.

When you are approaching life in this way, you are no longer a following. You are marching to your own beat, and others take notice. You are becoming more alpha.

This new alpha-approach to life will permeate your integration with life all around you, affecting both your social and professional circles of influence.